60 Interesting Facts About Croatia

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of 56,594 square km. Zagreb is its capital and largest city. Croatian is its official language. Kuna (HRK) is its official currency. Its five land bordering countries are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. The inhabitants or natives of this country are called Croatian.

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in central and southeastern Europe. Croatia provides breathtaking beauty, delicious seafood, incredible wine, and great sunshine for the most part of the year. With these 60 interesting facts about Croatia, learn more about its culture, history, people, economy, tourism and more.

Croatia’s history and culture

1. The origin of the name Croatia is uncertain.

2. The Croats are believed to have arrived in what is today Croatia, from southern Poland, south of Kraków in the early 7th century. However, this claim is also disputed by many.

3. Croatia was once a kingdom in 925 under the kingship of Tomislav, the first king of the country.

4. The first native Croatian ruler recognized by the Pope was Duke Branimir.

5. In northern Croatia, the fossils of Neanderthals have been unearthed. The fossils were found to be dating back to the middle Palaeolithic period.

Flag of Croatia

The national flag of Croatia. Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue – the Pan-Slav colors – superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms; the coat of arms consists of one main shield (a checkerboard of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields) surmounted by five smaller shields that form a crown over the main shield; the five small shields represent five historic regions (from left to right): Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia. Source – CIA

6. Kingdom of Croatia and Kingdom of Hungary in 1102 were ruled by the same King, Ladislaus I. Hungary plays a significant role in contributing towards Croatian tourism. Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians visit Croatia every year.

7. Croatians are also some of the best conversationalists. Believe us that dating a Croat will keep you away from boredom.

8. Bog! Is a friendly and very common greeting among the Croats in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The greeting stands for both Hi! And Bye!.

9. Because of a variety of dialets that are spoken in the country, it is common to find people having difficulty in understanding each others’ language and intention.

10. During the World War II, the Croats murdered between 70,000 and 100,000 people. This mass killing was done while pursuing a policy of racial and ethnic persecution.

12. The remains of a German WWII ship can be seen in just a few meters of clear water in Zavratnica bay.

13. Lonely Planet, one of the world’s leading travel site has described Croatia as the country of glittering waters.

14. In 2011, FORBES magazine ranked Croatia in the top 12 world best retirement haven. One of the reasons for this could be that the retirees in Croatia are exempted from paying income tax.

About Croatia’s economy and tourism

15. Croatia is identified by the IMF as an emerging and developing economy.

16. As per the World Bank, Croatia is a high-income economy.

17. Tourism plays a significant role in the country’s economy, which is also dependent on agriculture.

18. Around 11 million tourists visited Croatia in 2009.

19. Cres and Krk are the largest islands of the country.

20. Vis, which is the farthest inhabited island from the Croatian mainland; was named the top beach in Europe for 2016.

21. Out of the numerous deep caves in Croatia, at least three are deeper than 1,000 m.

22. The country also has a system of lakes with distinctive colors including mint green, grey or blue.

Croatia on map (Where is Croatia)

23. As per some statistics, Croatia is among the top 40 famous tourist destinations in the world.

24. Tourism contributes 15% to the nation’s GDP.

25. The European Union is Croatia’s most important trading partner.

26. The Sea Organ is an architectural object located in Zadar, Croatia. It is an experimental musical instrument, which plays music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps.

27. Croatia underwent economic recession between 2008 and 2015. The economy, however, is recovering from the loss.

28. Croatia spends almost 8% of its GDP on health.

29. Croatia is a hot-spot for celebrities and business giants to invest their money in property in the country. Superstars including Steven Spielberg, Andre Agassi, Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyonce and Jay Z, Madonna, Clint Eastwood and businessmen including Bill Gates, Roman Abramovic, Deripaska, Melnichenko, Zeleznjak, and Bernie Ecclestone have all purchased properties for residential and business.

30. For safety and security, Croatia is ranked above the U.S. by the Institute for Economics & Peace.

31. Impressed by the beauty of the Dubrovnik, George Bernard Shaw has said “those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik”.

32. The city (Dubrovnik) has also been described as “the pearl of the Adriatic”.

People and natural resources

33. Croatia is a rich country in biodiversity.

34. Croatia has a total of eight national parks. One of these–Plitvice Lakes National Park– is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

35. There is a museum in Croatia dedicated to Frogs doing some people work. Froggyland has 507 stuffed frogs arranged in 21 cases. The frogs in the museum are stuffed with cork and are doing a variety of things that people do during daily life.

36. The smallest town in the world–Hum–is in Croatia. With a population of 21, the world’s smallest town is situated in the centre of Istria. The town also has a mention in Guiness World records. Some regard the Vatican City as the smallest city in the world; however, it is a country. You can have a tour of the city through this video below.